U.S. Commerce Department Grants $500K For Mass. Game Dev Support

The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded a five-year, $500,000 grant to the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute (DiGI), to aid in the organization's efforts to promote game development in the state.

The group, based in Worcester's Becker College, launched in April with $200,000 provided by the college and the state-run Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

Executive director Tim Loew told the Boston Globe the new grant will be used for marketing, workforce, and business development in the state, and to help create working groups that will help entrepreneurs looking to invest in games.

"This industry is totally driven by talent," Loew said. "By building a better talent pipeline, we can put Massachusetts in an incredibly advantageous position."

"What we want to make sure, when the next wave builds, that people see that there’s an infrastructure already in place in Worcester,’’ Congressman and DiGI supporter Jim McGovern told the Globe. "We want this to be the video gaming corridor of not only the Northeast, but the country."